Combined clothes washer and extractor



Get. 12, 1943. J. B. KIRBY COMBINED CLOTHES WASHER AND EXTRACTOR Filed Oct. 24, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Z 2 B? Z J J. B. KIRBY COMBINED CLOTHES WASHER AND EXTRACTOR oc zt. 12, 1943.

Filed Oct. 24, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 92 /00 9 INVENTOR James B- Kirby v BY ATTORNEYS Oct. 12, 1943. J. B KIRBY COMBINED CLOTHES WASHER AND EXTRAGTOR Filed Oct. 24, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 zgz James B. Kirby BY ATTORNEYS INVENTOR I D'tllt Patented Oct. 12, 1943 COMBINED CLOTHES WASHER AND EXTRACTOR- James B. Kirby, West Richfleld, Ohio, assignor to The Apex Electrical Manufacturing Company,

Cleveland, Ohio, trustee a corporation of Ohio, as

Application October 24, 1939, Serial No. 300,966

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a combined washer and drier capable of washing, rinsing, and drying a batch of clothes in" a singl container without manual manipulation of the clothes during the washing, rinsing, and drying operations, the machine preferably being provided with a timing control for automatically starting and stopping the various operations in proper sequence and at proper time intervals.

An object of the present invention is to provide a mechine employing combined washer tub and extractor which is oscillated during the washing and rinsing operations, which is rotated during the extracting operation, and which has a gyratory support.

Further objects of the invention are to provide improved means for supplying water to the tub for the washing and rinsing operations and to provide improved means for collecting water overflowing from the tub during washing and rinsing operations or forced from the tub by centrifugal force during the drying operation.

A further object of the invention is to provide a drive controlling means by which the actuating shaft may be oscillated forthe washing and rinsing operations and continuously driven for drying the clothes and an operative connection between the drive control means and the tub draining means to automatically cause water to be drained from the tub whenever continuous rotation is imparted to the tub.

With the above and other objects in view the invention may be said to comprise the machine shown in the accompanying drawing hereinafter described and particularly set forth in the appended claims, together with such variations and modifications thereof as will be apparent to one skilled in the art to which the invention pertains.

Reference should be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical axial section through a combined washing and drying machine embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is an axial section on an enlarged scale through the upper portion of the supporting pedestal showing the water inlet and the means by which the combined tub and extractor is supported upon the operating shaft.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary schematic view showing the clutch and brak operating devices and the means for actuating the drain valve.

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view showing th timing control mechanism.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the gearing through which oscillating movement is imparted to the tub.

vFl'i 6 is a plan view of the operation indicating dia Fig. 7 is a fragmentary axial section showing a combined washer and extractor of modified construction.

Fig. 8 is an axial section on an enlarged scale in the same plane as Fig. 7 through the hub portion of the tub, the water inlet, and the upper portion of the supporting pedestal.

A shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the ma;- chine is provided with a tub I which is centrally supported upon an operating shaft 2v which is joumaled in a tubular pedestal-post 3. The shaft 2 which carries the tub I may be oscillated to impart an oscillating movement to the tub during the washing and rinsing operation and may be continuously rotated to impart a whirling motion to the tub to extract liquid from the clothes within the tub. For agitating the water within the tub during the oscillatory movements of the tub in washing and rinsing. the interior of the peripheral wall of the tub may be provided with one or more agitator vanes I and with additional vanes 5 extending radially from the hub portion 6 of the tub and upwardly from the bottom of the tub.

The machine is provided-with a housing enclosing the tub and the operating mechanism beneath the tub, the housing having a base portion I which encloses the lower portion of the supporting pedestal and the operating mechanism. Above the base portion 1 the housing has a drain portion 8 which has an annular trough 9 underlying th peripheral portion of the bottom of the tub I to catch water draining from the tub. Above the drain portion the housing is provided with a tubular shell I0, the upper edge of which is bent inwardly to overhan the space between the tub and shell providin an opening ll through which access may be had to the tub. The housing is provided with a bottom plate l2, in which may be mounted supporting caster wheels I3.

Adjacent its periphery the bottom of the tub is provided with drain openings M, which are normally closed by valves I5. Adjacent the top the peripheral wall of the tub is provided with overflow openings l6' through which water and scum or other floating impurities overflow from the tub. The drain trough 9 is positioned to catch water overflowing the top of the tub or draining through the openings l5 in the bottom of the tub.

The supporting pedestal 3 in which the supporting shaft 2 is journaled is preferably mounted for gyratory movement about a pivot point disposed axially of the pedestal and adjacent the bottom of the housing. The pedestal has a base formed by a flaring conical upper plat I! secured to the post 3 and a bottom. plate 8 which is rigidly attached to the plate H by bolts l9, the bottom plate l8 being spaced from the plate I! by sleeves surrounding the bolts 9. The bottom plate It is provided on its underside adjacent its periphery with a suitable number of spaced recesses 2|, these recesses being preferably positioned to receive the lower ends of the bolts l9 and providing seats to receive the upper small ends of conical coil springs 22 which are seated at their lower ends in wells 23 provided in the bottom plate l2 of the housing. The pedestal is pressed down against the cushioning springs 22 by means of a central anchoring pivot bolt 24 which has a ball shaped head 25 fitting in a recess in plate l8. The bolt 24 extends through the bottom plate I2 and is provided with a nut 26 at its lower end which is screwed against a rubber washer 21. By adjusting the bolt 24 the tension of the cushionin springs 22 may be increased or decreased.

The lower end of the shaft 2 rests upon a bearing ball 29 seated in the head 25 of the anchor bolt, and the shaft 2 has a tapered upper end portion 30 which is of polygonal cross section and fits into a correspondingly shaped socket in a cap 3| which is secured to the upper end of the shaft by means of a screw 32. The cap 3| has a peripheral depending flange 33 which is threaded at its lower end to receive an internally threaded contractible ring 34 which may be positively locked to the cap 3| by means of a clamping bolt 35. The ring may be made contractible by means of an axial slot and the bolt 35 extending across the slot acts to contract the ring upon the flange. The ring 34 has depending arms 36 which carry a collar 31 which is rigidly attached to the upper end portion of a tubular sleeve 38 which is attached at its lower end to the hub portion 6 of the tub bottom. The tubular post 3 extends to near the top of the shaft 2 and into the space within the flange 33 of the cap and an inner sleeve 39 of smaller diameter than the post 3 is fixed to the tubular post 3, spacing collars 40 being provided between the post 3 and sleeve 39. Within the flange 33 of the cap the sleeve 39 has a flange 4| at its upper end which extends outwardly and downwardly within the flange 33 of the cap, and the post 3 has a flange 42 at its upper end which extends outwardly and downwardly within flange 4|.

The annular space between the tubular post 3 and the sleeve 39 provides a water passage through which water may be delivered into the tub, the annular passage having a downwardly directed outlet into the tub through the space between the depending flanges 4| and 42. The sleeve 38 extends into the space between the down turned flange 42 and the tubular post 3 and a sealing ring 43 may be provided between the upper edge of the sleeve 38 and the flange 42 to prevent passage of water into the space between the sleeve 38 and post 3. The post 3 is provided below the bottom of the tub with circumferentially spaced apertures 44 which communicate with an annular passage formed by an internally channelled collar 45 which fits upon the exterior of the post 3 and which is provided with sealing rings 46 above and below the channel thereof to prevent escape of liquid through the space between the collar and sleeve. The water inlet collar 45 is connected to a fitting 41 which is provided with a valve 48 which is normally held in closed position by a spring 49 and which may be actuated in opposition to the spring 49 by a solenoid 50. The valve fitting 41 is connected to a flexible water supply conduit 5| through which water under pressure may be conducted from a suitable source of supply. To prevent passage of water into the space between the sleeve 39 and shaft 2, a sealing ring 52 may be interposed between the cap 3| and the flange 4| of the sleeve 39.

The tub drain valves I5 are carried by outer ends of levers 53 which are pivoted intermediate their ends to brackets 54 secured to the bottom of the tub. The inner ends of the levers 53 have forks 55 which straddle a group of relatively rotatable washers 56 slidably mounted on the exterior of the post 3. The washers 56 are pressed downwardly by a spring 51 interposed between the washers and the bottom of the tub which serves to normally hold the valves l5 in closed position. The valve levers are actuated in opposition to the spring 51 by means of a lever 58 which is pivoted to a bracket 59 secured to the post 3 and engaging the lower end of a flanged sleeve 60 which is slidable on the post 3 and engages the underside of the washers 56. The lever 58 is actuated to lift the sleeve 60 and open the valves l5 by means of a pull cable 6|.

The shaft 2 is actuated through a pulley 62 fixed to the lower end of the shaft 2 within the base of the pedestal, a brake wheel 63 being attached to the shaft immediately above the pulley 62. The shaft is driven from a pulley 64 through belts 65 running over the pulleys 62 and 64. The pulley 64 is mounted on the lower end of the vertically disposed shaft 66 of an electric motor 61 which is suitably supported in the housing. The pulley 64 is slidably mounted on the shaft 66 for movement from a neutral position into engagement with an upper clutch disc 68 or with lower clutch disc 69. The upper clutch disc 68 is fixed to a gear 10 which is rotatable with respect to the motor shaft and the lower clutch disc 69 is fixed to the motor shaft. The pulley 64 is shifted into engagement with one or the other of the clutch discs by means of a shifter lever H which is adapted to be actuated by either of two solenoids 12 or 13, which have armatures l4 and I5 engageable with opposite ends of the lever, the lever 1| being rocked upon fulcrum blocks 16 against which it is held by springs TI. The springs 11 normally hold the lever 1| against the flat tops of the blocks in which position of the lever the pulley 64 is held in neutral position. The clutch mechanism .is shown and described in somewhat greater detail in my co-pending application Serial No. 300,965, filed of even date herewith. 1

The gear 10 is operated by the motor 61 with periodic reversal of movement by means of gearing connecting the upper end of the motor shaft 66 to the gear 10. The shaft 66 has a pinion 18 fixed to its upper end which meshes with a gear 19 carried on a shaft supportedby the motor casing. A pinion rotates with the gear 19 and meshes with a gear 8 carried by a second shaft supported by the motor casing. A connecting rod 82 is pivotally connected at one end to the gear 8| and at its opposite end to a crank arm 84 fixed to the upper end of a vertical shaft 89 mounted at one side of the motor casing. The shaft 85 carries a gear segment 86 at its lower end which meshes with the gear I9. An oscillating motion is transmitted to the shaft 95 by the connecting rod 82 and the gear I9 is alternately turned in opposite directions by the gear segment 86.

When the pulley 64 is engaged with the upper clutch disc 68 an oscillating movement is imparted to the shaft 2 and tub I and when the pulley 64 is engaged with the lower clutch disc 69, continuous rotation is imparted to the shaft 2 and tub I. The shaft 2 is .held stationary when disconnected from the driving motor by means of a brake band 81 which extends around the brake wheel 63 and has a flanged end 88 which is anchored and a flanged end 99 adjacent thereto which is movable, the flanged ends of the band being connected by a bolt 99 and normally pressed together to tighten the band on the brake wheel by means of a spring 9I. The brake band may be actuated to release the brake wheel by means of a pull .cable 92 which extends through the flange 89 and has a yielding connection therewith through a spring 93 interposed between the flange 89 and a knob 94 attached to the cable. The pul1 cable 92 is guided through flexible tubing 95 through the bottom I2 of the housing and is threaded through downwardly extending arms 96 and 91 of bell crank levers 98 and 99 which are connected to the lower ends of the solenoid armatures I4 and I5. Adjacent the arms 96 and 91 the cable 92 has knobs I99 and IM attached thereto which are so disposed with respect to the bell crank arms that either is engaged by the adjacent arm upon actuation of the solenoid to which the arm is attached. Actuation of either of the solenoids to cause. oscillation of the shaft or continuous rotation of the shaft causes actuation of the pull cable 92 to release the brake, the brake being automatically applied by the spring 9| when both solenoids are de-energized and the pulley 64 is moved to neutral position by the springs 11. The cable 6| attached to the drain valve actuating lever is guided through flexible tubing I92 through the bottom of the housing and is threaded through the arm 9I.

a knob I93 on the pull cable to exert a pull on the cable and open the drain valves.

In the operation of the machine a batch of clothes is placed in the tub I and water heated to a suitable temperature is delivered into the -tub through the supply conduit I by actuating the solenoid 59 to open the inlet valve and permit water to flow through the annular passage-way in the pedestal and to be discharged downwardly from the under side of the cap into the tub. When sufiicient water has been supplied to the tub, solenoid I2 is energized to actuate the clutch lever II and engage the driving pulley 64 to the upper clutch disc 68 and the tub I and shaft 2 are oscillated to agitate the water and clothes in the tub for a period of time sufiicient to wash the clothes. During the washing operation the solenoid 59 may be actuated from time to time to admit additional water to the tub which Will cause water to overflow through the openings I 6 to clear scum from the water in the tub. After the washing operation the solenoid I3 may be energized to operate the shaft 2 through the continuously rotating clutch disc 69 and to simultaneously open the drain valves I5. After exmay be again oscillated while rinse water is fed Upon actuation of the arm 91, the arm engages into the tub through the supp y conduit 16L After the rinsing operation the drain valves are again opened and the tub is continuously rotated to dry the clothes.

Means is preferably provided for causing the necessary operations in proper sequence; This may be accomplished by means of a timing mechanism controlling the motor 61 and solenoids 59, I2, and I3. The timing mechanism may be operated by a clock motor I94 connected through reducing gearing I95 and a clutch I96 to a shaft II". The shaft I9I is provided with a series of cams which control the various operations, a cam I98 being provided for operating a switch I99 controlling the clock motor I94 and driving motor 61, a cam II9 being provided for operating a switch III controlling the solenoid 59 which operates the water inlet valve, a cam II2 operating a switch II3 to energize the solenoid I2 to cause oscillation of the tub I, a cam II4 controlling the switch II5 for energizing the solenoid I3 which connects the shaft 2 and tub I to the continuously rotating clutch element for the drying operation and which simultaneously opens the drain valves. The outer end of the shaft may be adjusted manually to advance or retard the operation of the various switches,' the handle II6 being positioned to move over a dial II'I upon which is indicated the various operations being effected in one revolution of the shaft I9I in the sequence indicated on the dial.

In Figs. 7 and 8 of the drawings there is shown a modified form of combined washer and extractor tub provided with water supply and draining devices which differ somewhat from the devices.

shaft II3 which is oscillated or rotated by driving means such as hereinbefore described and which is journaled in a pedestal post 4 which has a base portion yieldably supported to permit gyratory movements as in the modification first described.

The tub I I2 has a re-entrant conical bottom 5 provided with an integral hub portion II6 projecting upwardly into the tub, agitator vanes II I being formed integrally with the bottom and hub portion. The hub portion H6 is bored to receive the upper end of the shaft I I3 and is secured to the shaft for rotation therewith. At its lower end the hub portion H6 is counterbored to provide a chamber I I8 surrounding the shaft and a gland I I9 is provided in the lower end of the chamber to prevent leakage of water through the space between the hub and shaft.

The tub H2 is provided with one or more rows of overflow openings I29 adjacent the top of its peripheral wall through which water may overflow during washing or rinsing operations and through which the water is drained out of the tub during the drying operation, the peripheral wall of the tub being preferably of gradually increasing diameter toward the top to facilitate the discharge of water during the drying operation.

The tubular pedestal post H4 terminates below the bottom of the tub and a gland I 2| is provided between the shaft and post to prevent passage of water into the pedestal. Water is supplied to the tub for washing and rinsing through a suitable flexible supply conduit I22 which may be connected to a suitable source of water such as a household water supply system. The conduit I22 is connected to a fitting I23 which has a valve I normally held closed by a spring I25 and adapted to be opened in opposition to the spring by a solenoid I 28. The fitting I 23 is connected to a collar I21 surrounding the shaft Iii, the collar I21 having an internal channel I28 forming a passage around the shaft and packing rings I2! engaging the shaft above and below the channel to prevent leakage of water. The shaft III has an axial passage I30 which has a lateral opening I3I to the channel I28 and a lateral opening I32 to the chamber II8 in the hub H8, the hub having openings I 33 through which water is'discharged radially into the tub.

During the washing and rinsing operations the shaft 2 and tub H3 are oscillated to agitate the clothes and water within the tub and the valve I is opened intermittently to deliver additional water into'the tub. The addition 01' water causes the water to overflow through the openings I 20 and clears away scum and other floating impurities through the openings I20. During the extracting operation the rapid rotation of the tub causes the water to collect on the peripheral wall of the tub and flow outwardly through the openings I 20. The drain trough 9 carried by the housing catches water draining through the openings I20 during the washing, rinsing, and drying operations.

In order to prevent water dripping from the bottom of the tub into the lower portion of the housing in which the driving mechanism is enclosed, a drip plate I" of a diameter substantially corresponding to that of the bottom of the tub may be secured to the upper end of the pedestal post Ill and to the water inlet fitting. The peripheral edge of the drip plate I35 overhangs the trough 9 to discharge any water which drips upon it into the trough 9.

Furthermore, it is to be understood that the particular form of apparatus shown and described, and the particular procedure set forth,

,are presented for purposes of explanation and illustration and that various modifications of said apparatus and procedure can be made without departing from my invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

'1. A combined clothes washer and extractor comprising an upright shaft, a tub attached to said shaft adjacent its upper end, a drain valve on the tub, an actuating mechanism for oscillating said shaft, adriving means for continuously rotating said shaft, controlling means for disconnecting said shaft from said oscillating mechanism and connecting the same to said driving means, and means connecting the controlling means with said drain valve to open said valve and hold the same in open position during rotation of the tub.

2. A combined washer and extractor comprising a housing, a tub rotatably mounted within the housing, said tub having a peripheral wall which gradually decreases in diameter from the bottom to the top of the tub, said tub having openings adjacent the bottom thereof, valves for opening and closing said openings, radially extending levers connected to said valves, a vertically movable actuating member engaging the inner ends of said levers, means for actuating said member to open and close the valves, means for rotating the tub, means for oscillating the tub, and draining means carried by the housing for collecting water discharged from the tub.

JANIES B. KJRBY. 

